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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Has this forum jumped the shark?

170 replies

Havalina · 13/08/2019 03:26

I feel quite sad thinking this, it used to be so busy and enlightening. It just feels so crap and irrelevant now.

A mix of completely banal questions, troll fodder and behind the curve discourse 😬

OP posts:
MmmBlowholes · 13/08/2019 06:37

Jumped the shark relates to TV programmes. It's very easy to Google it. You can do it on your mumsnet machine.

TapasForTwo · 13/08/2019 06:38

I'm not familiar with the expression "jumped the shark". And I think that's the same for some of the other posters. Off to Google.

feelingverylazytoday · 13/08/2019 06:39

And just for information, the phrase 'jump the shark' came from Happy days, when Fonzie went water skiing and jumped over a shark. A lot of people saw that as a turning point, when the series turned to shit and people stopped watching.

AuntieStella · 13/08/2019 06:40

'Further YABU for not coming back and explain about the shark.

Very well known idiom - which is possibly why people think it needs to explanation. Originated in 1970s with The Fonz, and refers to the moment when a show reaches a tipping point where it goes too far and wrecks its reputation.

Or as wiki puts it: the moment when something that was once popular that no longer warrants the attention it previously received makes an attempt at publicity, which only serves to highlight its irrelevance. This is especially applicable to television series or other entertainment outlets.

Named for the espisode where Fonzie goes waterskiing and jumps over a shark

Iggi999 · 13/08/2019 06:41

If it gets to shit I might have to jump ship again and try Nethuns this time 🤷🏻‍♀️
Can't take anyone seriously who thinks Netmums might be better! Grin

FenellaMaxwell · 13/08/2019 06:42

m.youtube.com/watch?v=ahxG3iPeVcU

Fonzie jumps the shark.

KatherineJaneway · 13/08/2019 06:43

Jumped the shark relates to TV programmes. It's very easy to Google it.

And you get a nice picture of Fonzie.

Iggi999 · 13/08/2019 06:43

behind the curve discourse - as well as being a completely wanky phrase - is an odd thing to say as mumsnet is significantly "ahead of the curve" on one particular issue at least.

Sparklingbrook · 13/08/2019 06:46

I think people have to accept MN Talk for what it is. There's so many threads moaning about it and how it's no good and hasn't got the right functions etc.
There are many other Talk forums if it doesn't suit.
I dip in and out but do agree there's only so many times you can give your opinion on the same subjects that come up every other day. That's what Hide Thread is for. Grin

NiceViper · 13/08/2019 06:47

"are you trying to start a new saying?"

I rarely laugh at faux disingenuousness, but such an OTT example has brightened my morning!

VivaLeBeaver · 13/08/2019 06:48

Jumped the shark is a well known expression.

So Happy Days jumped the shark after Fonz literally jumped a shark.

Some would argue Grey's Anatomy jumped the shark after Derek died.

Some would argue MN jumped the shark with Penisbeaker.

Ive been here about 15 years. I'm still here, visit most days. Yes, it's a lot different and there's a higher proportion of threads which don't interest me. But I scroll past them and find the ones which do.

NoSauce · 13/08/2019 06:50

I agree with you OP. It’s definitely changed for the worse.

It’s full of trolls or people posting about their

Deadbeat, lazy husband
Overbearing MIL
Am I pregnant
My neighbour is a twat
My colleague is a twat
I hate my SIL
I don’t want to go on the hen do
My friend stole my baby name
Etc etc

It’s become the online version of Take a Break.

IceBearRocks · 13/08/2019 06:51

I have things I'd love support with...but you just can't trust it will end up in the press...so you don't post from that fear !

Wishihad · 13/08/2019 06:52

I’ve thought for a while that it’s going the same way as the Debates forum on Bounty went - yanbu

I used that one too. Coming up on 10 years ago.

I have been here since then
I dont think aibu has really changed. Still the same some good threads. Some nit so good. Plenty of trolls etc.

I think mn is great for women.
If I hadn't have been in here I know in the last 10 years i wouldnt have

Coped as well with DS HFA diagnosis.
Wouldnt have got as much help and advice on how to manage ds and his HFA
Wouldnt have gone for the job I start soon (promotion)
Wouldnt have confided in my friend that exh was abusive
Wouldnt have left exh
If I had have left exh, I probably would have just given up somewhere along the lines
I would have paid asking price for my house, despite the windows need replaced. An mn advised me to ask when the windows, door and boiler had been replaced.
I would have dumped my very lovely dp because I was afraid to ask 'so wheres this going' and was going g to dump up anyway.
Would have still had my head in the sand regarding my own pension.
Wouldnt have contemplated making over payments on my mortgage.
Would still be hugely uncomfortable in my work clothes (style and beauty ladies have done more for my wardrobe than any friends Grin)

And during the long nights where my anxiety or depression have been horrendous, I would have time insane. Even if it's just reading or general chatting to people about nothing much. Its helped.

It's really shown me the meaning of the cliche 'remember you don't know what other people are battling inside'. I personally think it's made me far less judgemental and considerate. You seem more of peoples struggles here, that you would know in real life.

Most of all, it's made me feel I am not alone when I have been at my lowest.

Mn is very relevant, has been for me and can imagine it is for lots of people outthere.

pictish · 13/08/2019 06:53

That’s really interesting about the origin of the expression. It’s actually a really good way of articulating that particular phenomenon with which we are all familiar.

LaMarschallin · 13/08/2019 06:55

behind the curve discourse
Now that's the one I had to Google.

And Netmums may be more ahead?

I looked at NM. FeeI now I perhaps looked at the wrong bit.

Came onto MN because a BBC message board on which I used to post disappeared due to budget cuts.
MN not the same (nor should it be; totally different agenda) and I do far more lurking than posting, but it has its moments.

Sad I missed out on MN's Golden Age.
But didn't all message boards have that 😊?

Wishihad · 13/08/2019 06:58

I had to google jumped the shark.

Not sure that's what OP means though. According to google

Jumping the sharkis the moment when something that was once popular that no longer warrants the attention it previously received makes an attempt at publicity, which only serves to highlight its irrelevance. This is especially applicable to television series or other entertainment outlets.

What is the attempt at publicity that mn is making?

tomtom1999xx · 13/08/2019 07:03

I think it means ‘passed it’s peak’ - but it’s not an expression I hear often.

HennyPennyHorror · 13/08/2019 07:03

A social media outlet can't really jump the shark OP. It's not like a sitcom...that term only applies to written entertainment which is scripted and has the same characters.

This forum will always change as society does. What we will see in the coming years is a record of changing morals, thought patterns and belief systems as society changes.

maras2 · 13/08/2019 07:04

lamarschallin Me too.
Loved the BBC boards but was pleased to find Mumsnet.

LaMarschallin · 13/08/2019 07:05

The first thing that came up when I Googled the phrase (I knew the Happy Days thing before but the "attempt at publicity" thing was new to me, so thought I'd check) was:

(of a television series or film) reach a point when far-fetched events are included merely for the sake of novelty, indicative of a decline in quality.

Which is what I understood by JTS.

Any road up....

What was MN like before?
This is triggering my FOMO!

(Yes, joke.)

HennyPennyHorror · 13/08/2019 07:05

Wish I don't think Google has it quite right. It's a term which came from the sitcom Happy Days. Fonzie in one of the last episodes surfed over a shark. It was over the top and a bit silly as the writers tried to come up with more interesting content.

That as many people saw it was the end of the once wildly popular show. They say it about other shows when they get desperate.

HennyPennyHorror · 13/08/2019 07:06

LaMar MN used to (in the very early days) be a lot warmer...it was a bit sharper...always been mean though. It had more of a cosy feeling as it wasn't as enormous.

People have been moaning it's gone downhill for the entire 15 years I've been here.

Iggi999 · 13/08/2019 07:08

wishihad that was a lovely list and thank you for sharing it. I think when people belittle mumsnet based on some excursions into AIBU they forget about the massive support it's given to other people. My list is shorter but it would include getting the advice that led to have dc2 after rmcs.

Sparklingbrook · 13/08/2019 07:08

I joined in 2011. Namechanging wasn't really the norm.
You could log in and sort of know a bit about who you were talking with from other threads.
You could start a thread and not have to say it was lighthearted, people would join in and you could have a bit of a laugh.
You can't do that now. Penis Beaker and Jeffrey are possibly factors.